After sending his message, Frank did something he’d never done before–he didn’t close the chat. Instead, he held his phone, waiting anxiously for her reply.

    He really didn’t want Elissa to ask Rowan to look into this matter.

    Based on everything they’d investigated so far, the reasons the Murphy family adopted Elissa weren’t as innocent as they seemed. There was something unclean about them.

    The only thing Frank was certain of was that the Murphys weren’t involved with drugs.

    First, the Murphys and the Atwaters had been close for generations–there was ino /iway such a secret could have stayed hidden. Second, Elissa’s background was unique. When the Murphys adopted her, the orphanage had to have double–checked everything with the authorities to protect her.

    But no one could have guessed that, even if the Murphys had nothing to do with drugs, they still might have a darker connection to the criminal underworld.

    Until he figured out what was really going on, Frank couldn’t let Rowan investigate.

    If Elissa’s parents‘ deaths truly had something to do with the Murphys, Rowan might cover things up to protect them–and destroy any evidence.

    Of course, Frank also worried that if he failed to help Elissa with this, their rtionship would grow

    even more distant.

    On the other end, Elissa frowned as she read his message. She was afraid Frank might actually do something desperate, so she had no choice but to agree for now.

    Rowan noticed her sudden silence, and for once, took the initiative to ask, “What were you about to

    say?”

    Elissa had never expected Frank to threaten her this way, and she didn’t dare bring the matter up to Rowan now. “It’s nothing,” she replied.

    Sensing the shift in her attitude, Rowan instinctively nced at her phone. He caught a glimpse of the chat windowi, /ijust enough to see a contact name before Elissa quickly tucked the phone away.

    -Frank.

    Rowan’s gaze sharpened, and a mocking smile yed at his lips. “Separated for so long, and you two still have so much to talk about?” He arched an eyebrow, the sarcasm clear in his voice. “Barely out the door, and now you’re chatting away online.”

    She really was quick to reply.

    Elissa pressed her lips together and answered honestly, “We weren’t chatting. We were just discussing something important.”

    “Oh? Something important?” Rowan’s dark eyes fixed on her, his tone casual, almostzy. “Talking about the divorce, are we?”

    They already had the divorce papers–what else was there to discuss?

    14:29

    Before Elissa could respond, her phone rang. It was Cliff Riley.

    At this hour, unless something was wrong, Cliff should be at the research institute.

    Assuming it must be urgent, Elissa answered immediately. Cliff’s anxious voice came through, “Elissa, we just got the results from ourst experiment, but for some reason, the data is way off from what we expected.”

    Elissa’s expression grew serious. She nced out the car window. “I’ll be there soon. Give me about ten minutes.”

    Until now, every previous experiment had matched her predictions almost exactly.

    This was the first time something like this had happened.

    After hanging up, Elissa turned to Rowan. “Will you be driving past my office? There’s a problem with the project–I need to go in.”

    Rowan had overheard most of the call and understood how serious it was. He looked atn, “Take

    her to the office first.”

    “Yes, sir.”

    When they pulled up in front of Murphy Group, it was still lunchtime; employees wereing and going.

    Elissa didn’t wait forn to pull into the parking lot. She jumped out at the curb and hurried toward the building.

    Inside, by the front desk, Xavier spotted her and visibly rxed, hurrying over. “Ms. Drummond, Mr. Jones and Mr. Riley are upstairs waiting for you.”